Prime Min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar has con­firmed that na­tion­al se­cu­ri­ty con­cerns were be­hind Com­mis­sion­er of Po­lice Al­lis­ter Gue­var­ro’s re­cent emer­gency leave but has de­clined to dis­close what those con­cerns were, even as ques­tions con­tin­ue over his sud­den de­par­ture from the coun­try dur­ing the on­go­ing State of Emer­gency.

Re­spond­ing to ques­tions from Guardian Me­dia via What­sApp about why Gue­var­ro ap­plied for emer­gency leave if he had been en­gaged in what was de­scribed as “of­fi­cial busi­ness,” the Prime Min­is­ter said: “Con­fi­den­tial na­tion­al se­cu­ri­ty mat­ters can­not be dis­closed to the pub­lic.”

Per­sad-Bisses­sar al­so re­it­er­at­ed her sup­port for the Com­mis­sion­er.